This invention relates to the utilization of the crankcase vapors in gasoline powered internal combustion engines, particularly those engines used in automotive service.
The directing of crankcase vapors into the air intake system or internal combustion engines is an old, well known art. U.S. Pat. No. 1,286,930 issued in 1918 and U.S. Pat. No. 1,299,790 issued in 1919, disclose early systems of utilizing crankcase vapors. Basically, the crankcase vapors of internal combustion engines consist of two major components, the blowby gases, i.e., the carbureted mixture plus exhaust gases passing by the rings of the piston, and vaporized and entrained particles of the lubricating oils in the crankcase that have been aerified or vaporized due primarily to agitation. The blowby gases contain large amounts of hydrocarbon gases that have a relatively high fuel energy content and can be burned in the engine to provide power that might otherwise be wasted. As reported by P. A. Bennett et al., employees of the Research Laboratories of General Motors Corporation, at the annual meeting of the Society of Automotive Engineers, held in January 1960, in their paper entitled Reduction of Air Pollution by Control of Emission from Automotive Crankcases, the blowby is predominately (approximately 85%) carbureted mixture. The aeriated lubricating oil in the crankcase vapor frequently contains relatively large and heavy particulate matter. Generally, without further breaking down of these particles, they are detrimental to passages in the carburetor, and in modern systems they build up and eventually clog the conventional PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) valve. The best known prior art is contained in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 1,286,930 to patentee Buckner; U.S. Pat. No. 1,299,790 to Scott; U.S. Pat. No. 1,512,954 to Smith; U.S. Pat. No. 1,525,187 to Indlekofer; U.S. Pat. No. 1,555,664 to Hall et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 1,792,560 to Worbois; U.S. Pat. No. 2,232,784 to Hifner; U.S. Pat. No. 2,250,200 to Lowther; U.S. Pat. No. 2,763,247 to Bailey; U.S. Pat. No. 2,271,150 to Dressler; U.S. Pat. No. 3,358,661 to Garner; U.S. Pat. No. 3,630,182 to Grainger; U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,240 to Sarto; U.S. Pat. No. 3,754,538 to Ephraim, Jr., et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,649 to Polaner; U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,534 to Amos; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,159 to Cappiello.